Though the fallout has been called a “clusterf---” by UFC president Dana White, Georges (Rush) St. Pierre has zero regrets over his decision to register with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).

“It's not a mess,” St. Pierre said during a phone interview Monday with QMI Agency. “I'm a man of my word. I said I was going to do it, so I did it.”

Prior to their welterweight-title fight at UFC 167 in Las Vegas Nov. 16, St. Pierre and challenger Johny (Big Rigg) Hendricks agreed to sign up with the independent drug-testing organization, which offers Olympic-style random screenings.

A number of MMA fighters and boxers have begun utilizing VADA in recent years, including Rory MacDonald, B.J. Penn, Roy Nelson, Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.

However, discussions between St. Pierre and Hendricks fell apart after the latter opted to stick with the Nevada State Athletic Commission's screening process instead of VADA's.

Hendricks' camp stated it became wary of VADA after discovering the organization would be footing the bill for the Montreal native's testing. According to the fight team, this flew in the face of St. Pierre's initial offer to pay for both fighters.

Hendricks' side also claimed St. Pierre turned down out-of-competition testing through a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab.

A series of he said, she said ensued and both competitors opted to go their separate ways.

As far as St. Pierre is concerned, he's living up to his word.

“Johny said he was going to do it, but he didn't want to sign the paper to do it,” St. Pierre said. “I don't know why. You need to ask Johny why it turned out the way it did. Me, I'm doing it right now.

“They've tested me three times so far and I'm sure they're going to come back. I never know when they do. It's a pain in the butt, of course, but I said I was going to do it. I'm doing it.”

Even though the VADA issue turned into a public squabble, St. Pierre said he was only trying to improve mixed martial arts. He hopes other fighters will consider signing up with the drug-testing association.

“It's been done a few times in the past and I'm encouraging other fighters to do it,” St. Pierre said. “It raises the bar and protects fighters. I only tried to do it in a positive way. I didn't want to piss anybody off or make anybody angry.

“I wanted to do it to prove you can be world champion without cheating, you can be world champion without using steroids. I know I've been accused in the past, so I wanted to make an example and raise the bar in the sport.”

With the public spat behind him, St. Pierre's focus is squarely on defeating Hendricks.

The bout marks his ninth consecutive title defence. Should he get past the two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, St. Pierre will only be a victory away from tying former middleweight champ Anderson Silva's record of 10.

Though St. Pierre aims to go down as the greatest fighter in MMA history, he said he doesn't feel he needs to surpass Silva's total title defences.

“It's not about the record because every division and every fighter has different challenges ahead of them,” St. Pierre said. “It doesn't mean if I don't beat it or I beat it that I'm better or not better (than Silva).

“What I can say is I want to be the best I can be and I try to challenge myself. It's about me and I try to challenge myself all the time.”

St. Pierre said he plans to make it a rough night for Hendricks.

“I'm focusing on the things I need to do to win, how I'm going to take Johny Hendricks out of his comfort zone and make the fight my fight,” St. Pierre said. “I know what he's good at, but there are a lot of things he's good at that I haven't seen (yet), I know. He's going to try and do his thing to avoid what I'm good at. The guy who's the most prepared is going to fight the best and win.

“It's going to be a great fight.”

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Georges (Rush) St. Pierre has long said Royce Gracie inspired him to become a martial artist.

The Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt's victory also forever changed the North American public's perception of martial arts, proving that a smaller and more technical ground fighter could get the edge against larger opponents.

The UFC will enjoy its 20th anniversary by staging UFC 167 in Las Vegas Nov. 16. In the main-event spot, St. Pierre defends his welterweight championship against Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks.

St. Pierre said he honoured to headline the card and celebrate Gracie's achievement.

“Royce Gracie's my idol,” St. Pierre said. “He's the best pound-for-pound in the world. I'm very honoured to be a part of this.”

St. Pierre sticks to guns in wake of drug testing 'clusterf---'

Though the fallout has been called a “clusterf---” by UFC president Dana White, Georges (Rush) St. Pierre has zero regrets over his decision to register with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).

“It's not a mess,” St. Pierre said during a phone interview Monday with QMI Agency. “I'm a man of my word. I said I was going to do it, so I did it.”

Prior to their welterweight-title fight at UFC 167 in Las Vegas Nov. 16, St. Pierre and challenger Johny (Big Rigg) Hendricks agreed to sign up with the independent drug-testing organization, which offers Olympic-style random screenings.

A number of MMA fighters and boxers have begun utilizing VADA in recent years, including Rory MacDonald, B.J. Penn, Roy Nelson, Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.